Quick release fork mount assemblies for securing bicycles to load carriers and rack assemblies are known. Examples of quick release fork mount assemblies include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,758,380, 5,875,947, 5,362,173 and 5,511,894, which patents are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
A common feature of the above known quick release fork mount assemblies is that they are all configured for securing “conventional” fork assemblies; that is, for securing those types of bicycle forks that have a pair of prong ends, each of which has a generally U-shaped or C-shaped slot disposed at a terminal end thereof. Typically, thus, to secure a front wheel to a conventional fork, the opposite ends of a wheel axle are slid into the slots of the prongs and secured thereto by means of threaded nuts or a clamping quick release mechanism. Similarly, to secure a conventional fork upon a quick release fork mount assembly, the slots of the forks are first aligned and slid upon opposite ends of a skewer and a force is then asserted upon the prongs of the fork by means of a clamping mechanism. The force asserted upon the prongs to secure the forks to the fork mount body is typically an inwardly directed force, however, outwardly directed forces can also be utilized.
While the above-identified quick release fork mount assemblies are generally satisfactory for slidably receiving and securing most conventional forks, a problem with quick release fork mount assemblies for securing conventional forks is that they are specifically configured for securing conventional forks and cannot secure many types of mountain and off-road type bicycles. The reason for this is that many mountain and off-road bicycles comprise “through-axle” type wheels and “through-axle” forks whose prongs do not have the U-shaped and C-shaped slotted ends of conventional forks. Rather, the terminal ends of the prongs of through-axle type forks comprise closed apertures, which receive wheel axles, wheel hub members, or hollow cylinders therethrough. Consequently, quick release fork mount assemblies designed for securing conventional forks are generally incapable of securing through-axle type forks directly thereto.
One attempt to address the above problem has been to use an adapter that allows a through-axle fork to be secured to a quick release fork mount assembly configured to secure a conventional fork. An example of such an adapter is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,069 (the '069 patent). While the adapter disclosed in the '069 patent is capable for securing through-axle forks to most conventional quick release fork mount assemblies, it can be difficult and time consuming to use the adapters and/or the adapters may not stably secure the bicycle upon the rack/load carrier. Indeed, to secure a bicycle using such adapters, the front bicycle wheel must first be removed from the through-axle fork, the adapter must then be secured to the through-axle fork using a pair of threaded nuts, which requires the use of a wrench, the combined fork and adapter assembly must then be aligned and slid upon the skewer of the conventional quick release fork mount assembly, and the quick release mechanism locked. Another problem is that because most conventional quick release fork mount assemblies utilize single skewers that are loosely held within the fork mount body, or housing, it can be difficult to align the prongs of the adapter with the prong receiving portions of the skewer. This can be particularly difficult when the fork mount assembly is elevated, i.e., installed upon the roof of a vehicle, or when a rather unwieldy bicycle is to be secured. For example, during loading, the prongs of the adapter can strike an end of the skewer and displace it to one side of the fork mount housing. As a result, the end of the skewer (and prong receiving portion) struck by the prong can become hidden within the housing and an unduly long portion of the skewer can extend from the opposite side of the housing. In order to load the bicycle then, the user must re-center the skewer within the housing. Typically, this is accomplished by setting the bicycle aside and then re-centering the skewer, or by attempting to support the bicycle with a single hand while re-centering the skewer with the other hand. As can be appreciated, users experience tremendous frustration when attempting to through axle-forks and adapters therefor on conventional fork mount assemblies.
Another problem with using adapters of the type described in the '069 patent is that the fork mount coupled assembly-adapter-bicycle assembly increases the number of connection points between a bicycle and the fork mount assembly. Consequently, a bicycle secured in this manner is generally not as stably secured as a bicycle whose forks are connected directly to the fork mount assembly. This can be problematic when a transporting vehicle must traverse rough terrain to arrive at a desired cycling location. Additionally, increases in the number of connection points between the bicycle and the fork mount assembly has a tendency to increase the potential for user error, that is, to increase the potential that a user may not correctly load the bicycle upon the adapter or the adapter upon the fork mount assembly. Furthermore, because the width between prongs and/or the width of single prongs can vary between forks, separate specifically sized adapters are typically required to secure each differently sized fork assembly. Also, when it is not in use, the '069 adapter can be easily misplaced, lost or stolen.
What is needed then is a quick release fork mount assembly that is easy to use and which is capable of stably securing a number of different fork types upon a load carrier.